Just got ARMA2 - advice?

[jw custom 56]

can anyone reccommend some scenarios that really make ARMA2 shine?

There's tons of good missions available, but where ArmA 2 really shines in my opinion is when you play them coop with other people playing same style as you.

My style is playing serious without getting too serious, so no i don't just walk in the shadows and constantly make sure i blend into the surroundings :p

[Nazul 10]

When the AI are acting like spazzas just leave them, ignore them, do the mission solo. Execute them if you want. It takes a while to get the knack of controling them.

[mr_centipede 31]

Do this, go into the editor, try UTES. Put a squad of badguys on a spot somewhere you like, on a hill maybe. Just leave it at that. Then pun on the good-guys squad, somewhere out of range from the bad guys, then put a waypoint on top(loosely speaking) of the bad guys. Make your self player of one of the squad members, not the squad leader... That will make you less frustrated with the AI.

Or you could try the trial by fire single mission... or the counter-attack mission, where you are a russian soldier, trying to capture Chernogorsk... Dont have to lead AI's there.

Leading AIs is like graduating from a platoon commander course... There will be mistakes made, and lesson learned. So learn a little bit of the AI behaviour. They can actually help you, if you know how to employ them effectively... unfortunately there're not many documentation on how to lead AIs...

[NoRailgunner 0]

Just do some tutorial & training missions and create some basic missions with mission wizard to learn the basics. You can change the controls/keybindings how you like - use the editor to see how it works. If you like to play a mission - read the briefing before you start! Arma2 isnt comparable to mainstream shooters.

...and be sure that you play with the latest (beta)patch! ;)

[cross 1]

also Alt key changes the context menu to suppress or watch.

Try playing at a higher difficulty re the AI. They have skills set and higher difficulty generally means more skilled AI, both at spotting you and shooting you.

But if you want to keep the current level due to aids & hud info etc, then take a look at your profile file in My Documents and you'll spot the skill settings in level classes.

It's editable so you can change enemy skill and precision level for your favorite level... so that you can have good AI on regular..

;)

[andersson 285]

Oh yes, take down AIprecision quite alot. I keep skill at ~0.8 and precision at ~0.5

[InFireBaptize 0]

Learn to live with 5 hours less sleep than usual, expect more trouble from your girlfriend and of course, make sure you have a good supply of beer handy.

you couldn't be more accurate, learn to adapt to new life changes and welcome to the armaII squad, oscar mike.

[HmoobSoldier 10]

in the manual it says you push space to get a context sensitive list of commands appropriate to your situation/facing. but when Im in a vehicle, theres no dismount option for my squad. If I get out, dismount shows up tho.

unfortunately, multiplayer is not a great attraction. I will play it dont you worry, but I get far more enjoyment out of singleplayer stuff.

can anyone reccommend some scenarios that really make ARMA2 shine?

.-=edit=-.

so HOLDING space gives a different menu to pressing space? thats hand to know LOL

Hold down spacebar and a quick menu command should pop up on the left side of the screen. If you're in a vehicle the very first command should be disembark. I cant remember if they will get out if you issue the command while the vehicle is in motion though.

The AI is still quirky at times but generally they're pretty good if you set their skill to max.

[txalin 2]

hey guys, Im not having a good time with ARMA2. hopefully you can help me.

firstly, the game runs super smooth. this is not a problem with controls or graphics or perfomance.

in that first campaign mission, I stumbled onto the 2 guys holding the doctor hostage. I was like 5 meters from them,and they didnt notice me. "its pitch black" I thought, so I shot one of them. and the other guy leaning against the wall just stood there. didnt react at all. so I shot him too.

Trying to figure out how to rescue the doctor (shoulda just waited) I walked up to him and pressed the middle mouse. luckily I realised I just planted a satchel charge at his feet (LOL) so I disarmed it. while I was doing this, another bad guy walked up to me, about 10 meters away and opened up, full auto with his AK-47. he didnt hit me, the doctor, or anything. so I stood up, pulled my gun out and shot him too.

whats going on man?

Do you have an original game? Looks like you activated FADE protection..

[Grizzle 0]

To have your entire squad disembark hit the tilde key '~' (no shift - this selects the entire squad) followed by 1-1. You'll hear your character say "All, disembark".

To make your character exit a vehicle, use the scroll wheel on your mouse to highlight 'Get out' then left click.

[templargfx 10]

Do you have an original game? Looks like you activated FADE protection..

how do you turn off "FADE protection" because so far my experiences with the AI have been borderline moronic

Edited November 18, 2009 by templargfx

[dmakatra 1]

how do you turn off "FADE protection" because so far my experiences with the AI have been borderline moronic

You do by acquiring a legit copy of the game.

[templargfx 10]

I dont think you can get more legit than this

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

I dont think you can get more legit than this

clearly you can :D

[gulag 10]

This is not fade, you are not used with controls, play more user missions, or play only one mission several times, before that download this ArmA2 game launcher http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=89731 helps you to put in order addons. (to be sure, shoot with a pistol in a close target, if bullets are scattered, and you miss the target, then is fade.)

Edited November 18, 2009 by gulag

[Gunter Severloh 3959]

get your controls down, and learn the basics of the editor too, not hard at all.

[templargfx 10]

im sorry, this is pissing me off now.

how in the world can you translate AI getting stuck in thin air. or me telling them to move next to a truck, and them running off to the horizon as being me not knowing how to play the game?

80% of those who replied in here have thus far, tried to blame these problems on myself. the other 20% have THANKFULLY given decent replies.

another "experience" with the AI. I told them to defend a crossroad section in a town. what did they do? CHARGED THE FRIGGING ENEMY!!! how does defend turn into CHARGE FFS

-Ziggy-

LOL now THAT is legit

[norrin 9]

I think before anybody jumps to unnecessary conclusions I think a few things need to be said about the game.

For those of us playing who have been playing OFP/ARMA series of games for a long time its easy to forgot what a massive learning curve there is when coming to this game. The carry over of features from iteration to iteration of the engine is a blessing for us long time users as we are all ready familiar with key game play features and how they function - for new comers well that’s another story.

Templar - ArmA2 has a complex team command system that gives the player a great deal of control over individual and groups of units within your squad. Its unwieldy but when used properly the AI will behave pretty much as commanded but you may need to do a bit of hand holding from time to time, even then they will have the occassional brain freeze.

As suggested by some the tilde key(~) allows you to select your entire team. F2, F3 etc allows you to select individual team members or groups of members.

Now your units are selected there two ways to command your units the contecxt sensitive menu or the old fashioned way using the number keys (which allows a lot more options - as suggestd by MadogX).

Doing this off the top of my head so please forgive me if I get something wrong (and I've only covered the things I remember).

The simplist thing to do is to select a unit then you can click on a space in front of you and your AI unit will move to that position - you can also select a unit and click on the map and it will move to the map click position.

Then to use the old fashioned menu system select an AI unitin your squad then press the:

1. key - a drop down menu will appear - get the unit to halt, fall back into formation advance etc

3. key, amongst other things will allow you to set you units facing if you want it to cover a sector

7. key - change unit comabat mode stance etc (this affects the AI's behaviour considerably).

8. key - team formation

The 7 key is one of the most powerful for controlling AI behaviour (especially if you have installed the beta patches) for instance danger mode will make the units move forward in bounds covering each others advance.

Possibly, the best way to find out about how it all works is to create a small team of AI units in the editor and spend 30 - 60 minutes seeing how the different commands work and what they do. Once you've got that under control add a few enemy AI and start again

Lots of experimentation is really the only way to find how best to use the command system for your style of play.

As you can see it take sometime to familarise yourself with the controls (not just all the keypresses) but how the AI react as well. Once you've got that under control you can start learning about the editor and scripting which is another world unto its own So if you've got the patience for it keep with it as at the end of the day despite its frustrations in my mind nothing come close to what you can do in this game.

One final thing with the units in the air glitches etc if you are using an addons remove them and try playing the mission again - not all addons are compatible with each other and can cause some strange behaviour.

Edited November 18, 2009 by norrin

[dmakatra 1]

Well, ArmA2 IS frustrating. It has loads of glitches and bugs. I've personally never had a problem with people getting stuck in thin air (although they have gotten stuck in bushes, walls, each other, etc.) but it sounds like it could happen. The AI running off however, is something I've never ever experienced in any form. Either you've given them the wrong command, or you've misinterpreted their actions.

ArmA2s AI is not very lifelike, it's very stiff and at times unreliable. But that's because of the dynamic nature of the game. Once you (and the mission maker) know how to utilise it to its full potential - it'll certainly baffle you at times. Considering how unscripted it is, I'd say it's easily the best AI on the market today.

[templargfx 10]

I own and have played to death :

Operation Flashpoint : Cold War Crysis

ArmA : Armed Assault

this aint my first rodeo people

Edited November 18, 2009 by templargfx

[froggyluv 2130]

I own and have played to death :

Operation Flashpoint : Cold War Crysis

ArmA : Armed Assault

this aint my first rodeo people

Dude relax.

People are in here trying to help you and don't know your gaming history. Obviously, if your AI were told to go to a truck proper, they would have. I've never had my squad just run off on me unless I was using an AI mod in which they are re-arming or the like.

I've seen problems with AI in mid-air (or at least mostly in mid-air) but it happens pretty infrequently. Solus, of SLX mod, released an addon that better pulls object down then native but overall this area still needs some fixin.

[templargfx 10]

im sorry, but since posting my issues, DMAKATRA has been practically the only person to not blame it on me.

dont worry about it guys. Im going to play the game again today. if this crud continues im returning it. No matter how awesome the mission editor is. if the AI in this game is really this moronic, I wont be able to get any enjoyment out of making stuff.

the more I play this game, the more I like Dragon Rising. sure its crippled and I cant do things like lean around corners, or look left and right in a car, which is just moronic. but the AI in that game is absolutely fantastic (and I should know)

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

another "experience" with the AI. I told them to defend a crossroad section in a town. what did they do? CHARGED THE FRIGGING ENEMY!!! how does defend turn into CHARGE FFS

how did you command them to defend, exactly?

another question is, How would I do it?

One could consider my method as 'hand holding', I call it, 'the only way I know how' ;)

First of all I use the keyboard commands and not the scroll button/action menu commands. It's what I am used to.

hmm..from my head, without going into the game...

perhaps a specific Move To for each unit to set them up in good defensive positions, then Engage, and maybe a Danger command when they reached their positions?

put your Machinegunner (7)Prone, and (3,7?)Watch Direction that is appropriate, like down a street or other fire lane.

Once the AI come under fire, I might call (~)ALL, (2)Target an (any) enemy unit, followed by (~)All, (3,5)Engage At Will.

Or you could give each unit a specific target by calling the appropriate F key for the unit you want to select, then (2) Target, and select one manually for him. I usually follow a manual Target command with a (same unit) Engage.

F2, target that enemy, F2 engage! I want to hear the AI call back "Engaging!"

using Engage at Will works best (for me) if I give the AI a Target first, then command the Engage at Will. He will attack his target, then proceed to attack other targets on his own.

It takes practice to learn the controls and the AI behavior.

hope this helps...

the more I play this game, the more I like Dragon Rising. sure its crippled and I cant do things like lean around corners, or look left and right in a car, which is just moronic. but the AI in that game is absolutely fantastic (and I should know)

Please, continue to ask for advice/help here without mentioning DR. Otherwise this will turn into a debate instead of support.

thanks ;)

Edited November 18, 2009 by [DirTyDeeDs]-Ziggy-

[templargfx 10]

they were following me when I got the crossroads in wedge formation.

I pointed at the centre of the area I wanted them to defend and told them to move there.

I then put them in danger mode

I told 3 guys in the centre to scan horizon

thats it, seen as there is no way to tell them to actually defend? which seems stupid

as soon as the enemy started shooting, they charged the enemy.

Im not one for holding the AI's hand.

I could understand them running off if I told them to engage at will. as that command could be interpreted this way. but when I tell em to move somewhere, they should stay there

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

Perhaps you should have told them to Halt, or Wait for Me, instead.

in my opinion, failure is your best opportunity to learn something. :rolleyes: